Fast Fashion: A Passing Trend?

快时尚要过气了？

 

With eyes on New York, London, Milan and Paris, a growing chorus of campaigners and designers are sizing up a more sustainable clothing industry

放眼纽约、伦敦、米兰和巴黎，越来越多的活动人士和设计师正在呼吁打造一个更具可持续性的服装产业

 

Fast fashion is the most accessible form of clothing, available on any high street or arriving at your front door with the click of a button.

 

快时尚是最容易买到的一种服装产品，大街上各种快时尚品牌店铺随处可见，或者轻轻一点鼠标就能网购到家。

 

Yet, low-quality garments, rapid production cycles, competitive pricing and trend replication all contribute to a pattern of excessive consumption and wastefulness that has worrying consequences for the environment.

 

但是，快时尚品牌服装质量低、生产周期短、价格低廉、紧跟潮流等特点常常导致人们过度消费和浪费，给环境带来了令人堪忧的后果。

 

As the world’s fashion capitals prepare to set next year’s trends at September fashion weeks, environmental campaigners and activists are calling for one of the world’s most profitable industries to change radically.

 

每年9月，预示来年流行趋势的年度时装周都会在全球各大时尚之都召开。而环保活动人士和活动家则呼吁这个全球最赚钱的行业进行彻底改变。

 

Global climate change activists Extinction Rebellion have announced plans to disrupt London fashion week (September 16-23), urging the British Fashion Council to cancel the event and form a “People’s Assembly of industry professionals and designers as a platform to declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency.”

 

全球气候变化活动组织“反抗灭绝”已经公布了扰乱伦敦时装周（9月16日—23日）的行动计划，希望借此敦促英国时装协会取消时装周活动，并成立一个“由专业人士和设计师组成的民众大会，将其作为为宣布气候与生态危机的平台”。

 

The increased scrutiny also seems to be impacting consumers’ choices, with the ethical clothing market increasing by almost 20% in value last year, according to Ethical Consumer.

 

对纺织品行业的这种日渐严格的审视似乎也影响了消费者的购物选择。来自《道德消费者》的信息显示，去年道德纺织品（即考虑在生产中的环境影响和动物福利等因素的纺织品）市场的市值增加了近20%。

 

But with big profits still at stake, can fashion powerhouses be persuaded to embrace sustainability?

 

当今时尚巨头们纷纷面临利润下跌的困境，在这种情况下，他们会接受可持续性的理念吗？

 

Environmental price tag

环保价签

 

The current system for producing, distributing and consuming clothing operates largely on a “take-make-dispose” model, in which the constant influx of new clothing can leave consumers quickly off trend. Some global brands even release new collections weekly.

 

目前，服装的生产、分销和消费基本上是“拿来—生产—丢弃”的模式。面对不断出新的服装样式，消费者很容易就会落伍。有些国际品牌甚至每周都要推出新款。

 

This system leaves around 350,000 tonnes of used clothing going into landfill every year in the UK alone. The cost to the national economy of this wastage is estimated at over US$1 billion.

 

可持续性非政府组织“艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会”表示，仅英国每年未经充分利用就被抛弃的纺织品大约有30万吨。这种浪费行为给国民经济带来的损失超过10亿美元。

 

Worldwide, the fashion industry accounts for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, contributing more each year than the aviation and maritime sectors combined, according to the UNFCCC, the body in charge of international climate negotiations.

 

联合国气候变化框架公约（UNFCCC）是一个负责国际气候谈判的专门机构。该机构统计显示，全球服装产业排放的温室气体约占全球排放总量的10%，每年的排放比航空和海运部门的总和还要多。

 

The figure is set to rise to 25% by 2050.

 

到2050年，服装产业排放的温室气体占比会上升到25%。

 

Existing global value chains are resource-intensive, using high-carbon transport infrastructure and depleting freshwater reserves and arable land.

 

现有的全球价值链都是资源密集型的，使用的都是高碳排放的交通基础设施，并且消耗了大量的淡水和耕地资源。

 

The production of cellulose- and protein-based fibres competes for arable land, often encroaching on forests in Indonesia, Canada and on the Amazon.

 

无论是纤维素纤维还是蛋白质纤维的产生都会挤占耕地，而在印度尼西亚、加拿大和亚马逊热带雨林地区，为了生产服装材料，森林还会被砍伐。

 

Up two-fold in five years, 150 million trees were felled in 2018 for the production of fibres such as viscose, one of the most commonly used for fast fashion products, according to forest campaign group Canopy.

 

森林活动组织“林冠”指出，为了生产粘胶纤维这种快时尚最常用的材料，2018年共有1.5亿棵树被砍伐，而这个数字在过去5年翻了一倍。

 

Toxic chemicals are used throughout the textile manufacturing process, beginning with the harvesting of fibres such as cotton. Pesticides used in cotton farming can deteriorate soil quality, contaminate water and present serious health risks to farmers and communities living near plantations.

 

纺织品制造过程中还使用了各种有毒化学品，而这从棉花等纤维的收获阶段就已经开始了。农民会在种植棉花的时候使用农药，这会导致土质下降，水资源污染，给种植园附近的农民和社区居民带来巨大的健康风险。

 

Large quantities of dyes, additives and stabilisers are then used to treat textiles. Factory wastewater is often discharged into freshwater sources.

 

此外，纺织品处理过程中也需要使用大量的染料、添加剂和固色剂，而工厂废水却常常被直接排入淡水区。

 

In China, textile manufacturing zones such as Guangdong and Zhejiang have faced pressure to “detox fashion”. River pollution became such a normality that it gave rise to the adage: “If you want to know what colour is fashionable this season, just look at the river”.

 

在中国，广东和浙江等纺织业重点地区正面临着“时尚脱毒”的重重压力。河流污染已经成为家常便饭，甚至有人戏称“想知道本季的流行色吗？去河里看看就知道了”。

 

The ocean, meanwhile, is awash with 300 million tonnes of microplastics that are released from clothing through household appliances.

 

与此同时，通过日常洗涤过程，每年各种衣物向海洋贡献约3亿吨的塑料微粒。

 

Immoral fibre

不道德的纤维

 

Fashion brands are engaged in a race to outcompete each other and cut costs in supply lines. As well as impacting the environment, this often means poorer working conditions and low wages.

 

如今，各大时尚品牌相互竞争，竞相削减供应链成本。除了影响环境外，这也通常意味着更加恶劣的工作环境和微薄的工资收入。

 

Women are disproportionately affected. The US$1.3 trillion fashion industry has a workforce of around 75 million people, 80% of whom are women.

 

其中，妇女受到的影响尤其明显。价值1.3万亿美元的时尚产业共计雇佣了7500万人，其中80%都是女性。

 

In Central American “maquiladoras”, reports of gender-based violence and forced pregnancy tests are common. If results are positive, pregnant women can be made to take on extra hours and do strenuous tasks to force them to quit.

 

中美地区边境加工厂（maquiladoras）经常被曝出存在性别暴力和强制孕检等违规行为。如果检测结果证明员工怀孕，工厂就会“专门”给她安排繁重的劳动迫使她主动离职。

 

What are maquiladoras?

什么是“边境加工厂”？

 

A maquiladora, or maquila, is a foreign-run factory that operates largely duty- and tariff-free. These factories assemble, manufacture or process goods and export the finished product to markets. Because of a lack of regulation in special economic zones, workers are often paid as little as 40% of what is required to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

 

所谓“边境加工厂”是一种基本无需缴纳商品税和关税的外资工厂，负责组装、制造或加工产品并将成品出口到目标市场。由于经济特区监管不足，边境加工厂工人的工资水平常常只有能维持健康生活方式收入的40%。

 

According to the Global Slavery Index, the garment industry is the second most at risk industry – after electronics – for modern slavery and trafficking. These issues are not exclusive to countries commonly associated with “sweatshops”, and have made their way to the UK.

 

全球奴役指数（Global Slavery Index）显示，从现代奴役和人口贩卖情况来看，服装行业已经成为仅次于电子行业的全球第二大风险行业。这些问题并非仅仅出现在几个常见的“血汗工厂”国家，在英国也同样存在。

 

To meet the turnaround times of “ultrafast fashion”, in which entire 26-week production cycles are reduced to just one week, British producers are “reshoring” to meet delivery expectations. However, this business model operates on cheap, often trafficked labour.

 

为了满足“超快时尚”的周转要求，原本26周的生产周期被压缩到了只有1周。为了按期交付，不少英国生产商开始重新在国内设厂。但是，这种商业模式必须雇佣廉价、甚至非法劳动力。

 

In cities such as Leicester, workers were found by a Financial Times investigation to be paid as little as £3.50 per hour ($4.27). This is less than half the national minimum wage of £8.21 (US$10).

 

英国《金融时报》的一项调查显示，在莱斯特这样的城市里，工人的最低时薪只有3.5英镑/小时（约合4.27美元/小时），还不到英国最低时薪标准（8.21英镑，约合10美元）的一半。

 

“Minimum wage has to be living wage not a poverty wage,” said Phil Bloomer, executive director of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.

 

商业与人权资源中心执行主任菲尔·布鲁默表示：“最低工资必须能够满足基本生活需求，而不是刚刚超过贫困线”。

 

Bloomer added that the garment industry needs to take an active approach to gender-based and sexual violence and said a living wage would be the most emancipatory provision for female garment workers, in turn enabling other fundamental rights.

 

布鲁默补充道，服装产业应该积极采取行动，消除性别歧视和性暴力，而最低生活工资对服装女工来说则是最具解放性的条款，进而能够帮助她们实现其他基本权利。

 

Time to slow down

告别快时尚

 

An increasing number of fashion brands are now rejecting predominant production models and attempting to usher in a new era of “slow fashion”.

 

如今，越来越多的时尚品牌开始拒绝主流生产模式，并试图开创一个“慢时尚”时代。

 

London-based luxury fashion brand Luna Del Pinal (LDP) is among a new wave of designers forming the slow fashion movement. LDP uses traditional Guatemalan backstrap weaving practices and works to create zero-waste pieces using organic, sustainable fabrics such as upcycled cotton supplied by The New Denim Project.

 

总部位于伦敦的奢侈时装品牌Luna Del Pinal（LDP）就是促成这股慢时尚潮流运动的成员之一。LDP采用传统的危地马拉背带编制方法，利用“新牛仔项目”提供的再造棉布等有机、可持续面料生产零废弃的服装产品。

 

“We believe there is light at the end of the tunnel,” said LDP co-founder Gabriela Luna. She identified eco-conscious consumers as part of the solution to fashion waste, although at present, it is mostly high-end consumers who are prepared to pay more to know their clothes are sustainably and ethically produced, she said.

 

LDP联合创始人加布里埃拉·卢娜表示，“我们相信曙光就在前方”。她认为，针对时尚浪费问题，具有环保意识的消费者也是解决方案的一部分。不过，目前大多只有高端消费者愿意付更高的价格购买通过可持续和道德的方式生产的衣服。

 

Nonetheless, these market opportunities motivated LDP to be transparent in its supply chain, Luna said. The brand works with artisanal weaving associations in Guatemala, enabling consumers to know who made their clothes.

 

尽管如此，卢娜表示这些市场机会都是LDP保持供应链透明的动力。LDP与危地马拉手工编织协会合作，让消费者了解到是谁为他们制作了所购买的衣物。

 

Luna said the challenge for slow fashion brands lies in changing the mindsets of consumers who still prioritise accessibility over sustainability.

 

卢娜说，消费者总是优先考虑便捷度而不是行业可持续性，这是慢时尚品牌面临的主要问题。

 

In China, more than 20 million tonnes of textiles are wasted each year, despite a 100 billion yuan (US$13 billion) market for recycled clothing. Though there is a burgeoning zero-waste movement, changing attitudes towards reused or upcycled clothing could prove difficult.

 

在中国，尽管衣物再回收的市场规模已经达到1000亿元（约合130亿美元），但每年被浪费的纺织品仍然多达2000万吨。虽然零浪费运动正逐步兴起，但是改变消费者对二手或再造服装的态度仍然很难。

 

“In order to create a movement, you need to first change the mentality of consumers, and until then you can’t change the immensity of the clothing industry,” a user who identified as Zhang Weidong posted in an online Chinese Q&A forum on slow fashion.

 

一位名叫张卫东的用户在中国知乎论坛上一个有关慢时尚的专栏里发帖称，“不首先在衣服的消费观念上掀起一场解放运动，就不可能从根本上解决纺织品的泛滥成灾。”

 

Chinese New Year also encourages the cycle of purchasing because new clothes are considered to bring good luck. The perception that second-hand clothing is unhygienic is also commonplace, as is public scepticism about the traceability of reused materials, illustrated by a recent case of rogue clothing banks.

 

按照中国传统习惯，新衣服象征着好的运气，所以人们要为了春节挑选新衣服。中国人认为二手服装不卫生的也不在少数，因为人们对回收物料的可追溯性仍然存疑，而近日曝光的劣质服装仓库事件更是说明了这一点。

 

Luna said it is easier for new fashion brands to incorporate sustainability from the outset than for established global brands such as H&M, which recently signed a pledge along with over 30 other retailers to become carbon neutral by 2050, to switch to greener models.

 

卢娜表示，新兴时尚品牌更容易融合可持续发展的理念，而像H&M这样的老牌国际品牌则难度较大。近日，H&M与全球30多家零售商签订了一份承诺，要在2050年前实现碳中和，向更加绿色的生产模式转型。

 

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which advocates the circular economy, is petitioning larger brands and the garment industry as a whole to transition to a fully regenerative business model based on four pillars:

 

积极倡导循环经济模式的艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会请求大型时尚品牌和整个服装产业在以下四点的基础上，实现向可再生商业模式的全面转型：

 

· Phasing out harmful substances and microfibre release

· Increasing clothing utilisation

· Radically improving recycling

· Effectively using resources and moving to renewable inputs

 

·逐步淘汰有害物质，并停止释放微纤维

·提高服装利用率

·从根本上改善回收再利用

·有效利用资源并采用可再生原料

 

According to Orsola De Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, a global sustainable fashion movement established in the wake of the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, some of these changes are already underway.

 

2013年孟加拉国一家服装厂的大楼——热那大厦倒塌后，一个名为“时尚革命”的全球可持续时尚运动组织正式成立。该组织联合创始人奥尔索拉·德·卡斯特罗表示，目前行业内已经出现了一些变化。

 

“Sustainability is not a passing trend… It is excess that is a passing trend, and this is the trend that we have to face right now,” she said.

 

她说：“可持续性并没有过时……过时的是过度生产和消费，这才是当下的潮流。”

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